For Sunday 20th March 2022, Third Sunday of Lent
Friends,
In the lighting of the continuing war in Ukraine, people have commented how watching the news leaves them feeling exhausted and somewhat despairing. At the same time, as people of faith, we understand that what we are seeing, hearing and feeling can be brought to God in prayer. Personally, I have found it difficult to pray about the ongoing situation, either in my own prayers, or in the public prayers of the congregation. When others can and do find words that resonate, that is something to be grateful for. The prayers that follow emerge from the Iona Community – I hope they might help our continuing prayers.
Loving God,
because you have the whole world in your hands,
cradle gently those who are rocked by fear,
shocked to a depth they have never known
and frightened to face tomorrow.
On the people of Ukraine:
their children, their old people,
their vulnerable adults,
their babies soon to be born:
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
On the people of Ukraine:
their defenders, their advocates,
those who care for the wounded,
who sit with the despairing,
who witness and report on the savagery and destruction,
who bury the dead:
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
On the people of Ukraine:
their leaders that they may continue to inspire,
in word and by example,
and continue to receive help
and solidarity from across the world:
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
On the people of Russia,
that they might learn the truth kept from their hearing:
On the churches in Russia
that they might find the vocabulary and courage
to speak truth to power:
On the soldiers of Russia
who do not believe in the carnage they cause:
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
On the Russian president,
and those who affirm his policies,
we ask the judgement of heaven,
a radical conversion
and an end to their lies, scheming and murder:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
And for our own nation
we ask for commitment to match conviction
so that the pain of the Ukrainian nation
be shared by us,
their weary people sheltered by us,
their peace assured by us:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us. Amen.
And in words from an earlier century, a prayer of St Augustine:
Watch now, dear Lord,
with those who wake or watch or weep tonight;
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend your wounded ones, O Christ;
rest your weary ones,
bless your dying ones,
soothe your suffering ones,
shield your joyous ones
and all for your love's sake. Amen
Angus
Worshipping at St Columba’s & COVID Precautions.
While Government guidance has changed and we are still assessing the best and appropriate way forward. This Sunday we continue to recommend mask wearing within the building (unless exempt) and social distancing.
We suggest dressing warmly as we try to keep the sanctuary well ventilated and hand sanitiser will continue to be available throughout the building. In all our arrangements we recognise that people are at various stages on the pandemic journey – our aim is to keep everyone confident and safe.
Live Streaming of Worship
Services can be watched via the church website, https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream.
To access the live stream from the homepage (front page) click the Menu button in the top right-hand side of the page and scroll down and click on “Live Stream”. This will bring up the live stream to the church. The act of worship of approximately 60 minutes, includes include prayers, a sermon and music. The words for the hymns will be on the website. We believe it is really important to continue to live-stream the Morning Service under its current format i.e. for the benefit of those joining worship from afar or those as yet unable to make the journey to Pont Street. For those without internet, the Dial-In facility continues. Many people comment that they do have a sense of worshipping together, even if invisible to each other.
Reminder: If you do not wish to appear on the live-stream please choose a seat in the rear half of the sanctuary.
Please note that the Evening Services on the 1st of the month will not be live streamed as they will take place in the London Scottish Chapel.
Dial into Sunday Service
If you are aware of church members or friends who do not have access to internet please inform them that they can now phone in to join the Sunday service. No visuals clearly, but at least they can hear the service. Those interested should follow:
Step 1: At 10.40am call phone number 0203 051 2874.
Step 2: You will be prompted to enter a meeting ID. Please type (using your telephone keypad) 266 883 5072#
Step 3: You will then be asked for a participant number - simply press the #.
Step 4: Enjoy the service! You will hear the organ music from 10.50am.
Hymns, Music & Readings, 20th March 2022 - 11am
Hymn 32 As pants the hart for cooling streams (Martyrdom, Fenwick)
Hymn 187 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (All for Jesus)
Hymn 724 Christ’s is the world in which we move (Dream Angus)
Hymn 562 Through the love of God, our Saviour (Ar Hyd Y Nos)
Old Testament Readings: Psalm 63
Old Testament Readings: Isaiah 55:1-9
Gospel Reading: Luke 13:1-9
Anthem - Ave verum (Svein Møller)
Musical Interlude - It is a thing most wonderful (Vaughan Williams/Burton)
Organ Postlude: Fantasia in G minor by J.S Bach
This Sunday: Sounds of St Columba’s
Following service this Sunday there is congregational lunch and, what we think will be, a special St Columba’s moment. The Choir with No Name (“for those affected by homelessness”) will join us for a concert in the Sanctuary from 1.15pm. The Choir with No Name now rehearse weekly at St Columba’s and you can find more details on them here https://www.choirwithnoname.org/
Do come and enjoy, while showing your support.
Congregational Offerings
Details on the many ways you can support St Columba’s can be found here https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/giving/supporting-st-columbas.
Would anyone wishing to contribute to St Andrew's, Newcastle please contact the Session Clerk on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for bank details or other means of donating.
Rising Living Costs: Help at Hand
We are aware that with the cost of living and fuel costs rising that some of our community may be struggling financially. If you, or someone you know, are in need of help, please do get in touch with the Church Office or the Ministers. All conversations will be held in the strictest of confidence.
Lent Appeal 2022
Collaboration à la Santé Publique Burkina Faso (CSPB) a small registered French charity http://cspb.cagnes.pagesperso-orange.fr
The CSPB Association is a small French charity created in 2012, providing much needed Family Planning and other related medical services in the Northern Region of Burkina Faso. The charity was created by a French GP, Dr Pierre Leon, who worked and studied in Burkina Faso and saw the need for improving Public Health (especially in Family Planning) in rural parts of the country. There is a massive problem of too many children per family as young women and girls have no access to family planning, contraception. The yearly growth rate is more than double the world average. Burkina Faso is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Only one in eight find work.
CSPB have a midwife and a nurse specialised in HIV and reproductive health, three birth attendants all of whom work with local rural bush nurses and in villages, running clinics and training. The charity provides information talks on contraceptive implants and follow up appointments for girls/women of child bearing age offering them implants for those wanting them. CSPB organise talks in rural village school and colleges, the charity run 'the school of husbands' for men providing them with advice on Family Planning. Awareness campaigns for adolescent girls to help reduce unwanted pregnancies that often result in forced marriages and that can cause girls to stop schooling. The charity's work is supported by local religious leaders, tribal chiefs and the government.
We look forward to welcoming Alasdair MacKenzie (member of St. Columba's) to do a brief talk during the service on: Sunday 6th March and Sunday 10th April (Palm Sunday).
If you would like to contribute to the Lent Appeal: Gift Aid helps, if you are eligible. If you need to complete a Gift Aid declaration form, please contact the Church Office. Various options to donate:
White Lent Appeal envelopes are available in the Upper Vestibule.
Alternatively, by electronic bank transfer: Please use "Lent Appeal" as the payment reference.
St Columba's Church of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
Account Number 00264741
Sort Code 16 00 42
Cheques payable to: "St. Columba's Church of Scotland" and with a note that it is for the Lent Appeal. Send to:
Finance Dept. (Lent Appeal)
St. Columba's Church
Pont Street
London SW1X 0BD
Congregational Sunday Lunch 20th March &Future Dates
This Sunday we offer a fine congregational lunch after service. The next lunch dates are the 3rd April & 17th April in the Lower Hall. Coffee will continue to be served every Sunday as usual in the Upper Hall. These Hospitality Services are much valued in supporting Fellowship.
Evening Services Future Days
Evening services are held on the first Sunday of the month, at 5pm. Future evening services dates are 3rd April & 1st May. They are held in the London Scottish Regimental Chapel. [Please note they are not live-streamed.]
Office Hours
The church office is open from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Contact details; Tel: 020 7584 2321
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.stcolumbas.org.uk
Facebook: @stcolumbaschurchpontstreet.
Twitter: @LondonKirk
Pastoral Emergency Number (out of office hours): 07591926271
St Columba’s Book Club
The April book of the St Columba’s Book Club will be “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. We shall be meeting on Monday April 4th at 7pm and welcome new members. The joy of St Columba’s Book Club is it takes place on Zoom so you can do it from the comfort of your own front room.
St Columba’s Coffee Mornings
The St Columba’s Coffee Mornings will return in March! We are looking forward to seeing many faces on the Zoom Screen!
- 20th April 2022- The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, The Lord Wallace of Tankerness will join us to talk about his moderatorial year.
- 11th May 2022- TBC
- 14th September 2022- Revd Scott Rennie the new Minister at Crown Court will be joining us. An opportunity to meet him and hear about his time in the ministry.
- 13th October 2022- In prisons week, Jake Tily, Creative Programmes Director at the Irene Taylor Trust will talk to us about The Lullaby Project where they have collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic orchestra to write lullaby’s for prisoners children.
Happy Hour
The next Happy Hour at The Carpenters Arms (upstairs room), 12 Seymour Place W1H 7NE is on Wednesday 6th April, 6.30 - 8.30 pm. The evening will start with a talk by David Natzler. David will be looking firstly at the books of the Biblical Apocrypha, possibly repeating some of the material in recent articles in the magazine, and also at the way in which this collection of material emerged: and then at one or two comparable Apocrypha in literature and the visual arts.
The venue is only a few minutes’ walk from Marble Arch tube station. Everyone welcome to come along for an evening of discussion and social fellowship.
Friends’ Trip
The Friends of St Columba’s are visiting the Dumfries area of Scotland, from September 23rd - 25th 2022. Itinerary includes the original home of TSB, (founded by a Church of Scotland minister) a visit to Ruthwell church, with its 8th Century Cross and possibly the early Christian settlement at Whithorn. To gauge numbers, anyone interested is asked to be in touch as soon as possible via the church office or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Reflection & Points For Prayer
Prepared by the Congregational Prayer Group
St. Columba’s, Pont Street, & St. Andrew’s, Newcastle.
Sunday 20th March 2022, Third Sunday of Lent
Introduction:
As we journey through Lent our Gospel readings remind us that Palestine 2000 years ago was a land under foreign occupation. In earlier days the Psalmist lived through tumult and war. This year war and terrible cruelty have overshadowed our Lenten journey and shaken our own continent. Our calling as Christians is to work for peace, not simply the absence of war but peace with justice for all people. Let us begin by praying for discernment to see what is right and go on to pray for peace in our own hearts and in the world.
Opening Prayer
Lord God,
in this world where goodness and evil
continue to clash with each other,
instil in us, and in all your people,
discernment to see what is right;
and courage to do what is right.
Keep us aware of the subtlety of sin,
and preserve us, body, mind, and soul,
through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Scripture: Psalm 63: 1 – 8
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there
is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the
sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory,
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your
name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Poem: At Home, D. M. Dolben
I asked for Peace -
My sins arose,
And bound me close,
I could not find release.
I asked for truth -
My doubts came in,
And with their din
They wearied all my youth.
I asked for Love -
My lovers failed,
and griefs assailed
Around, beneath, above.
I asked for Thee -
And thou didst come
To take me home
Within Thy heart to be.
Prayer Points
- Pray: That as we journey through Lent we might have patience, perseverance, and vision and be inspired to care for all God's creation.
- Pray: For the peace of the world
- Pray: For politicians and diplomats and all working for peace. For wise and compassionate leadership at home and abroad.
- Pray: For refugees and all victims of human cruelty and natural disaster. That the bereaved may be comforted, the injured cared for, and the homeless find shelter.
- Pray: For those still struggling with the Covid pandemic, those who are sick at home or in hospital, and doctors, nurses and research scientists.
- Pray: Giving thanks for those who have gone before us, and inspired us by lives of Christian service.
- Pray: Lifting up to God the week that lies ahead.
- Pray: The Lord's Prayer.
Closing Prayer
Show us, good Lord,
the peace we should seek,
the peace we must give,
the peace we can keep,
the peace we must forgo,
and the peace you have given
in Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
Peace to the community and love with faith,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's grace be with all
who love our Lord Jesus Christ
with undying love.